Goodyear debuts longer-life EV tires

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is developing a product for electric vehicles that it says will help ease something that’s hampered their competitiveness against gas-powered vehicles: tire duration.

Electric vehicles weigh more than their internal combustion counterparts due to their heavy battery packs, putting more wear and tear on tires. Goodyear sought to extend electric vehicle tire mileage with its new ElectricDrive 2 product that it revealed Tuesday at the CES trade show in Las Vegas. The first iteration of the tire came with a 60,000-mile warranty. The average electric vehicle tire typically needs to be replaced after 30,000 to 40,000 miles, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Goodyear expects the tires to be commercially available in North America starting in May, joining two other electric vehicle-specific offerings, according to Chief Technology Officer Chris Helsel. (Goodyear also released the Urban Max BSA tire line last June, which is specifically designed for electric buses.) The ElectricDrive 2 series will be produced in 17 different sizes — the company’s largest line for electric vehicles, Helsel said — that will serve vehicle models, including the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Chevy Bolt. He declined to specify the cost of the ElectricDrive 2 line of tires and planned production quantities.

The company’s new electric vehicle product is expected to feature materials including soybean oil used in the tire’s construction as well as sustainably sourced natural rubber as well as high-quality rice husk ash silica, which is a byproduct when rice is processed. Tire pollution is a growing concern for the industry, both at the end of their life and the pollution they leave on the road in the form of tiny particles that can include microplastics, volatile organic compounds and other chemicals that pose a risk to the environment.